MLS Cup 2010

It's time to determine the best team in MLS - even though LA won the Supporters' Shield.

Western Conference:

Seattle over LA 3-2 - Beckham and Donovan will have problems in Qwest Field like last year's MLS Cup game. The Sounders are two-time US Open Cup champs and on the rise.

RSL over Dallas 5-0 - The defending MLS Cup champions will end Dallas' Cinderella run with two easy victories. Jason Kreis knows how to get the job done.

Eastern Conference:

Colorado over Columbus 3-2 - The Crew will get smoked in the thin air of Colorado and return home and fall flat on their faces, just like last season. Columbus is no longer the feared team that beat the Red Bulls to win the title.

New York over San Jose 4-2 - Golden Boot winner Chris Wondolowski will get a boot in his ass from Rafa Marquez as he gets introduced to the intensity of MLS playoff action. Thierry Henry will do nothing like he did for France in the last World Cup.

Championships:

RSL over Seattle 2-1 - These teams don't like each other. The champs will win a tight affair behind Nick Rimando.

Colorado over New York 1-0 - The Red Bulls aren't a cursed franchise for no reason. An own goal by Tim Ream will be the difference.

MLS Cup 2010

Colorado over RSL 2-1 et - This can't be what the MLS wants in Toronto, but it is a scrumptious matchup. The Beautiful Game doesn't believe that RSL can handle Omar Cummings and Conor Casey.

What are your picks? Do you disagree with our expert opinion? Let us know. Who knows you may be able to win some big prizes?!

Tough loss for Hertha BSC!

A major blow was dealt to The Beautiful Game's favorite German team as Hertha BSC was dumped out of the DFB-Pokal in the second round by scrappy TuS Koblenz 2-1 on Tuesday night. The dream of silverware for Germany's rising team in popularity was halted by the third-division minnows.

Hertha was without Nikita Rukavytsya and captain skipper Andre Mijatovic. Both could be out for significant time. The visitors turned in a dispiriting effort and let in a poor first goal when goalkeeper Marco Sejna was beaten by a shot from the other side of the field somehow. Hertha has the worst luck!

Adrian Ramos scored to make it 2-1 in the 88th - eight minutes after Raffael was sent off for Hertha. Fortunately, Hertha can focus on the goal of promotion with a big match Friday against Ingolstadt! The cup final will be in Berlin - alas once again without Hertha BSC!

Big win for Hertha BSC!

A thrilling encounter in Berlin ended with the home team beating Gruether Furth 2-0 to remain on top of the table to the delight of this blog. Valeri Domovchiyski scored the opener in the 76th minute after some nice work on the left side by Levan Kobiashvili helped set up the chance. It was a deserved lead since the Berlin club always had the run of play and only had an anxious moment around the 60 -minute mark when bacjup goalkeeper Marco Sejna spilled a harmless long-range shot into the path of a Furth player who somehow contrived to miss the ball entirely when any kind of touch would have sent it into the open net.

The South American connection of Raffael and Gustavo Adrián Ramos created the second goal, with the Brazilian slotting home to send the crowd into delirium!

Hertha has 23 points and gets ready for a German Cup showdown on the road with TuS Koblenz on Tuesday. Another matchup that day will be Bayern Munich against Werder Bremen if anyone cares.

As for Furth, they host Augsburg in the German Cup.

Any comments or questions, let us know! For now, it is a beautiful night in Berlin as the fans sing in delight. What an atmosphere as Hertha remains the only unbeaten professional team in Germany!

Big clash in the nation's capital on tap

It's at high noon Eastern time Friday and the world will be watching. The Beautiful Game's favorite German team Hertha BSC will be hosting Greuther Furth in a showdown of the top two teams in the second division. Both teams will be going all-out for the three points and a place at the summit in a mouth-watering clash sure to draw the attention of all of Europe.

For those needing more info, Hertha BSC is a club located in one of the coolest cities in the world - Berlin, Germany. While it's true that the locals have far too many entertainment options to focus solely on football unlike other parts of the country, this humble club has developed an international fan base that extends throughout the continent and the whole world. The boys from Berlin are the only side not to lose a match in the league and have 20 points - one more than the visitors.

As for Greuther Furth, they are located in Bavaria. Enough said.

Can Hertha maintain their winning ways? Will the Bavarians fill up the Olympiastadoin? Stay tuned to the beautiful game for the answer!

Liverpool

Liverpool FC - So here is a club in a world of hurt.  Currently sitting in the relegation zone, with 1 win to their name.  Their two best players, Gerrard and Torres, still on summer vacation (at least mentally).  Their two most productive players from last season, Benayoun and Kuyt, gone and injured respectively.  The club's finances in shambles.  They are playing in the Europa League thanks to their 7th place finish last season.  By they way the drew at 0-0 at Napoli today.  All this and they still feel good about flying on a plane piloted by the front man of Iron Maiden. 

I really don't know what to say about that.  Are they taking everything in stride while there is turmoil all around?  Do they not care?  Are they trying to cheat death?

Europa League

A bunch of teams played today.  Some won, some drew, while others lost.  Who cares?

Champions League roundup

Well another nauseating matchday of Europe's most prestigious and money-hungry competition is over. Is this the worst ever group stage or not? Nice to see an American score - even if Maurice Edu also scored into his own goal. I remember DaMarcus Beasley scoring for Rangers also a few years ago - any other Americans ever score in this competition? Let us know here at The Beautiful game. We would love your questions and comments on the game or life in general.

Alas, poor Maurice still has yet to score in a World Cup match (sigh!).

Moving along, there are a few spots up for grabs by any reasonable estimation. Can Rangers go and get a result in Valencia (probably not)? Can Schalke take care of business in Portugal against Benfica (maybe)? Can Tottenham screw up what looks like a promising campaign (likely)? Will Chelsea get so bored they will forget to show up (Doubt it)? Stay tuned.

We will have a Bundesliga 2 update later after a big weekend of action in Germany!

Here we go

So I think I figured this out.  This here is my first post on a blog.  Let's see if this works.